Every Minute, Every Hour
by Firenzie
Summary: This takes place a while in the future. TK and Kari, now married, pay a visit to Tai, who's a total slob and wreck, all because of something that happened ten years ago... This is kinda drama-ish, and obviously, there's romance.
1. An Organized Mess

Every Minute, Every Hour (Part 1)  
By Firenze  
  
A/N: Ummm...this is a story set in the future... Let's say Tai and Sora are 30, Takeru (that's what I'm going to be calling him in this fic) and Kari are 27, and if I happen to mention anyone else, you can do the math. Another sad drama thing, all right? Well, it's really romance, but when I say sad, that means the two characters don't end up together.  
  
Disclaimer: I love Al Gore! But I'm so sad Clinton is leaving. It actually intrigued me to write a story, because I know I'm such a great writer. Digimon is the stupidest anime on earth so I'll write about this. Because it's mine, you know. I made new characters in season 02, because I hated the original Digidestined so much. And I'm getting totally rich off this! If you believe any of this at all, you are out of your mind.  
  
***  
  
Takeru and Hikari Takaishi waited patiently, as Hikari rang the doorbell a fifth time.  
  
"Where is he? Tai said he didn't have any plans whatsoever."  
  
"Who knows?" Takeru turned the knob, and surprisingly, the door opened. They stepped inside the apartment. Hikari drew in her breath, and Takeru's eyes widened. "Oh my god..."  
  
Trash and clothes were scattered everywhere, furniture was upturned, things were on the floor or entirely out of place, it was a complete wreck.  
  
"Look at this place! There's been a robbery," Hikari said in shock. "What if Tai's in trouble?"  
  
"Shhh, hear that?" Takeru whispered, pulling her to him.  
  
"Hear what?"  
  
"Someone's coming." They held their breaths, and then they heard the footsteps, coming closer and closer... Their shadow appeared...  
  
"Kari! Takeru!" someone said.  
  
"Tai!" Hikari said in relief. "Thank god it's just you. There was a break-in, and we thought you were the robber. I was so worried--"  
  
"Break in?" He looked around the room. "Oh, I haven't cleaned in some years. Sorry about that." Taichi was wearing sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt with holes in it. He hadn't shaved and his giant mass of brown hair looked even more unmanageable than ever before. "I forgot you two were coming, and I sort of took a nap. Again, about the mess... Well, it's how I live."  
  
"You mean like a pig? What ever happened to your sense of neatness?" Hikari asked him, eyeing his odd clothing. "What happened to -- you?"  
  
"Years ago, everything sort of left me permanently when -- uh, well, you know. I'd rather not go into detail." He looked away, and there was an awkward silence.  
  
"It's okay, we understand," Takeru said uncomfortably. "Don't worry."  
  
There was another pause, then Taichi spoke up. "Well, let's not just stand around here like a bunch of idiots, who wants coffee?"  
  
"Oh -- um, sounds terrific," Hikari said, cautiously walking to the kitchen, trying not to step on anything.  
  
"I got plenty of coffee," he said, "but I'm sort of out of food. I've been meaning to go grocery shopping for a few weeks, but I've been living off deliverable pizzas and Chinese food."  
  
"It's all right, we had a brief brunch this morning with some of our friends," Kari replied, trying to imagine what expired, moldy things could be hiding in his refrigerator.  
  
"This is worse than Matt's and my dad's pad was," Takeru whispered her.  
  
"Hey, you can get comfortable in the living room, while I make the coffee," Taichi said.  
  
"All right," Hikari said, taking Takeru's hand and leading him away.  
  
During coffee, there was little conversation. Every once in a while, someone would clear their throat and seem like they were about to make a comment, but they didn't. It was completely silent as they sipped from their steamy mugs.  
  
Takeru was tired of it. He had no idea why they were all so silent, but it wasn't the reunion he was expecting with his brother-and-law. "So, uh, Tai, how's bachelorhood?" He sheepishly glanced at Kari, whose arms were crossed. "Er, not that I miss it or anything--"  
  
"Free, I suppose," he said gloomily, taking another gulp of the scorching coffee. "Mostly lonely. I always wanted a wife. And I thought I'd found one with--" His hand began to shake, and his mug tipped, spilling the hot liquid over himself. "Aw, damn. Excuse me a moment, will you?" He walked out of the room, muttering to himself.  
  
Once he was out of earshot, Takeru whispered, "Boy, he's a total wreck. That break-up -- god, it's been ten years! I can't believe he's still hurt!"  
  
"He loved her deeply. He said she was the only one for him," Hikari explained. "Hold on, honey, will you? I think it's about time for a sibling heart to heart."  
  
Taichi changed out of his scrubby sweatpants into a pair of jeans. Then he pulled a clean shirt on, fumbling with the buttons. Glaring at his reflection in the mirror, he said, "Pull yourself together, Tai. You've got guests for god's sake..."  
  
"Knock, knock," Hikari called from the open doorway, lightly tapping on the frame. She stepped into the bathroom. "Tai, can we talk?"  
  
"Sure, Kari. About what?" he asked, running a comb through his tangled hair.  
  
"Sora."  
  
The comb fell from his hands and onto the ground, but he made no attempt to pick it back up. He put the lid of the toilet down and sat upon it with a heavy sigh. "If you don't mind, I'd rather not--"  
  
"What are you so afraid of?" she demanded. "You cringe every time she's mentioned--"  
  
"I do NOT cringe," he protested.  
  
"Sora, Sora, Sora!"  
  
He tried to fight it, but he still flinched.  
  
"What's the matter with you? It's been ten years," she said exasperatedly. "Just get over it!"  
  
"I can't," he croaked out.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "I'm sick of asking questions, but why? Why can't you just forget her and move on?"  
  
Tears welled in his eyes, as he whispered the answer she needed. "Because I'm still in love with her." Hikari gasped. "After all this time. I never got over her -- I can't. I love her with all my heart, and I always will."  
  
"Tai, Sora was nice and all, and I liked her as a friend, but what was that special about her? What made her so great compared to all your other girlfriends?"  
  
He looked up at her with his watery eyes, which were full of shock. "What wasn't? How dare you ask that, Hikari. How can you? I never judged Takeru or wondered why you loved him. Why are you making this harder on me? In my eyes, Sora was perfect. She may not seem it to you, but you're not me. She was beautiful, compassionate, caring, she loved all the same things I did, she meant everything to me... I can't use only words to tell you how I feel about her, because it's too strong, too deep to even try. I can't explain why she's the only one I'll ever love, but she is. Think about it this way -- what if you didn't end up with Takeru? How would you feel?"  
  
"I'd get over it--"  
  
"Would you?" he asked angrily, his eyes flashing. "Takeru was the one you gave your heart to. What if you didn't have his? See, Sora still has my heart, she's always going to have it, even if we end up or not."  
  
"Why don't you do something about it?" she exclaimed. "Get up, get out, pay her a visit, tell her all that!"  
  
"I can't..." He hung his head sadly.  
  
"Can'r, can't, can't! What happened to you, Taichi? Where's your confidence, your courage, your passion to get up and act on a feeling?"  
  
"It left with everything else, when--"  
  
"When Sora broke up with you!" she yelled. "That is ALL you think about! There's no reason to wallow in self pity like this--"  
  
"You'll never understand!" Taichi shouted, pushing past her and out the bathroom, into another room and slamming the door.  
  
Hikari pounded her fists on the door, but it was tightly shut. "Tai -- open up!"  
  
Her voice sounded distant to Taichi, who felt as if he had just entered another world or dimension. The room was messy like any of the others in the house, but it was covered in a thick blanket of dust. He sneezed, making it fly up everywhere. He hadn't stepped a foot in this room in years. The bookshelf was crammed with old photo albums. Soccer trophies were on the top. There were boxes, full of dusty, seemingly useless junk. It was the room with every single picture, object, anything that reminded him in the least about Sora Takenouchi.  
  
His emotions were mixed. He wanted to get out, to stop remembering about her -- but then, he yearned to think about the things he had tried so hard to forget over the years. He blew on the dust on the books and pulled out a particularly thick album. It was the album of the time before the Digiworld. He sat down on the floor and flipped through it. Pictures of him, Kari, Izzy, his other classmates, soccer team, and school friends, and of course, Sora... They were smiling, young, innocent, naive little children then. At soccer camp, Tai found himself being drawn closer to Sora as a friend... He put the album back.  
  
And then in the Digiworld (of which there were no pictures), it developed into a simple crush. It was rather cliche, to fall for a best friend of the opposite sex, but that wasn't the only reason he liked her. It could have been because their only other female companion had been Mimi, the complete embodiment of the type of girl he didn't like, but that's when he started caring about Sora a little more than he should feel for just a friend.  
  
Then after the Dark Masters, after Apocolypmon, back to the real world. That's slowly when he began to drift away from her. He found the appropriate album. At first, their bond had gotten much stronger, and she appeared in nearly all the pictures, but gradually, she was with him less and less. Until the end, after Mimi had moved, Matt formed a garage band with his friends, Kari picked up photography, and TK started getting good at basketball, she was hardly there at all. She was busy with tennis, flower arranging, motherly bonding... It was so slow they didn't even notice it was happening.  
  
Then there came the Chosen Children. Davis, Yolei, Cody, TK, Kari.Things pretty much remained the same, but Kari got some great photos of the Digiworld. The old Digidestined got together a bit more, but Tai and Sora were still distanced. It wasn't even a matter of being busy anymore, it was just the fact that they had been away from each other so long they had practically forgotten how to communicate and hang out together.  
  
Then that year... When a new evil took over the Digiworld, and it took all of them, new and old, with the help of American Chosen Children like Michael and Willis and others to defeat it. Being in danger forced all of them a lot closer, including Sora and Tai, who started talking again. Then their bond became even stronger than it ever had been -- because it was a different kind of friendship and caring. It wasn't mutual, it was love. And after they both admitted it, they were unbreakable.  
  
He looked at the photographs from their dates and their times at dances and proms... There were tons of albums filled with only them. But a big piece of the puzzle was missing. What happened in between the golden years and the big break up? Things were too fuzzy, but there wasn't a big fight or anything. He remembered now...  
  
One day, Sora didn't show up for their date. He wondered why, and when he saw her again, she said that her mother had died. She said she was really busy with college, work, the flower shop; her life was just too complicated for a boyfriend.  
  
"But I'm the one who can help you through this!" a hurt, 20-year-old Taichi said in shock. "Sora, don't do this--"  
  
"I just need to be alone right now. There's too much on my mind. I'm really sorry, Tai, but a boyfriend isn't the kind of thing I need in my life at this point. We had a great time together, right? But now...it can't keep going that way. Sorry... I'm not sure if I still love you...but I know you're just getting in the way right now, and there's too much going on in my life, and I can't--" She broke off sobbing and then ran away.  
  
Then she pretty much up and vanished after that. Was that all that happened? That was the reason they had broken up? He still couldn't live with the explanation she had given him. She didn't NEED a boyfriend...did that mean she really didn't love him?  
  
Hikari groaned. "Open the door, Tai!" Takeru came along to help her, and they tried to break the door down.  
  
Taichi got up, brushed the heavy dust off his already crummy clothes, and opened the door. Takeru and Hikari fell down and a cloud of dust rose. He kept on walking to his bedroom and then slammed the door.  
  
"Tai, where are you going?" Hikari asked, as he opened his front door, neatly dressed now, his hair fixed, clean-shaven, looking a lot fresher. He held a piece of paper in his hand.  
  
"I'm going to pay a visit to Sora," he said, showing her the address. He remembered what it took to get the address...  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Oh, uh, hi, Mimi," he said nervously. "I don't have much time to chat here. I only want to know one thing. What's Sora's address?"  
  
Mimi told him. "But there's one thing I need to tell you--"  
  
"I'm sorry, Mimi. It was great talking to you and all, but I really have to go now. I need to tell Sora that I still love her."  
  
"Oh my god! Tai--"  
  
"It's important and thanks a million, but I really have to go."  
  
"You don't understand--"  
  
"Bye." 'Click' He now had Sora's address, and he had to be on his way.  
  
"Shouldn't you at least call Sora first?" Takeru asked.  
  
"I don't know her phone number, and even if I did, if I don't do this now, I never will," Taichi replied. "It's now or never. I'd prefer now. I need to tell Sora that I still love her."  
  
***  
  
'Well, Taichi, this is it. Go for it!' Another nagging voice in his mind said, 'What the hell are you doing?! Are you crazy? It's been ten years, she probably forgot you!' 'She'd never forget you!' the other half argued. 'Ring the doorbell already!' Agumon's voice echoed in his mind. "Gather your courage..." He took a deep breath and pushed the doorbell.  
  
A few seconds later, the door was answered. But it was a man who answered the door. He was tall, with dark brown hair and dull, gray eyes. "Can I help you?"  
  
Taichi didn't know what to do. Who was this? Sora must have moved, or Mimi had given her the wrong address. "Oh, no, I--"  
  
"Are you selling something? Looking for someone?" the man inquired.  
  
"No, I just--I'm sorry I bothered you, I'll be on my way now," he said. He turned around to leave.  
  
"Taichi?" someone asked in total shock behind him.  
  
The sound of the voice made his heart beat faster and his palms sweat. He knew who it was before he slowly turned around. "Sora?"  
  
"Oh my god, Tai, what are you doing here?"  
  
"Nothing, I was just leaving--"  
  
"Did you come to see me?" Sora asked excitedly.  
  
Taichi nervously glanced at the man. "Well, um, yeah. I mean, it's been a while since we've been together, and I thought I'd pay you a visit because I was looking through some old photo albums and I just realized that it's been so long since I've talked to any of the -- err, you know [Digidestined]."  
  
"I'm so glad you're here! Come in!" she said eagerly, letting him in. "Wow, you look great!" She turned to the man next to her. "Oroka, you this is Taichi Kamiya. I told you all about him."  
  
"Great to finally meet you," he replied, extending his hand. "Oroka Makeinu."  
  
He shook his hand. "Nice to meet you too. So how do you know Sora?"  
  
"Oh, Tai, did I forget to tell you? Oroka and I are married."  
  
***  
  
A/N: I've long since stopped cliffhangers, but that just seemed like such the perfect place to stop. I'm really sorry! Cliffhanger madness is coming over me again... P.S. Oroka Makeinu means "stupid loser," (if that online dictionary is right) which expresses how much I like this character. I won't beg for reviews this time, but if anyone is interested, I'm working on the sad ending of "Don't Want to Lose You Too." 


	2. Destiny, Fate, Wishes, and Wait

Every Minute, Every Hour (Part 2 and final)  
By Firenze  
  
A/N: Here's the sequel! That cliffhanger was just wrong and it's weighing down on my conscience for some reason. (That's right, I actually have one) No, the truth is, I'm actually into this story and I wanted to finish it quick so I could see how it turned out. Anyway, this is a DRAMA romance, so don't expect any sap in this. This does have the tiniest hint of Taiora, but don't expect that to be the big ending. And it's a songfic. So I hope you like it...and if you do, review!  
  
Disclaimer: Who does Digimon belong to? Is it: A) Toei, B) Saban, C) Both of those, along with others, or D) Me? ... Is that your final answer? If you answered A,B, or especially D: I'm sorry. That answer is incorrect, it's C. Are you stupid or something?!?!?! If you answered C: Good for you! You've just won a million dollars! J/K, your prize it...you get to read my fic! Oh yeah, "Every Minute, Every Hour" belongs to 2GE+HER. It's my favorite of their songs!  
  
***  
  
"Did you come to see me?" Sora asked excitedly.  
  
Taichi nervously glanced at the man. "Well, um, yeah. I mean, it's been a while since we've been together, and I thought I'd pay you a visit because I was looking through some old photo albums and I just realized that it's been so long since I've talked to any of the -- err, you know [Digidestined]."  
  
"I'm so glad you're here! Come in!" she said eagerly, letting him in. "Wow, you look great!" She turned to the man next to her. "Oroka, you this is Taichi Kamiya. I told you all about him."  
  
"Great to finally meet you," he replied, extending his hand. "Oroka Makeinu." (If you didn't read the first part [you're an idiot! j/k], that means "stupid loser")  
  
He shook his hand. "Nice to meet you too. So how do you know Sora?"  
  
"Oh, Tai, did I forget to tell you? Oroka and I are married."  
  
Taichi blinked a few times and then shook his head. He had a very big headache. Sora had thrown something huge on him -- was he supposed to be happy? Had that been what Mimi had been trying to warn him about? He wished he had listened... But nothing could truly ever prepare him for what he had just discovered. He tried to fake enthusiasm, but it was hard to force a smile onto his face when it was the last thing on Earth he felt like doing. "Oh, that's -- that's great. Really -- uh, great." He wanted to faint, he wanted to cry, he wanted to throw up, he wanted to do anything but pretend to be happy and stay in Sora's home with her husband, and her --  
  
Son?  
  
A young child stumbled into the room. "Mommy, who's the man with the big hair?" he asked, holding a security blanket under one arm and his thumb in his mouth. His hair was dark brown like Oroka's and his eyes were a fiery red like Sora's.  
  
"Well, uh, it's an old friend of mine," Sora said gently. She nervously faced Taichi. "Um, Tai, meet -- Taichi." She looked away. "I named him after you."  
  
"Oh, well, I -- Sora, I'm --" Taichi stuttered.  
  
"Flattered? Grateful? Shocked? Utterly, utterly horrified?" she asked, trying to decipher his expression. "Taichi, I'm sorry for throwing this all at you at once. This must be a real surprise."  
  
"More than you'd ever know," he said, his throat feeling very dry. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked away. "I thought it would be a bad idea to come here. Now I know that I don't belong. I should probably leave now."  
  
"Now, Tai -- don't say that. Stay here, please. We have so much catching up to do. Ten years! Where are you living? Who are you living with? What's your job? Basically, how's life?"  
  
"I'll make some coffee," Oroka volunteered, sensing that his presence was causing discomfort to Taichi and Sora. "Taichi, come here," he said to his son. The boy waddled over, still staring back at Tai.  
  
Taichi ran his hands through his hair while Sora walked him to the living room, where he collapsed on the sofa. "To, uh, answer your questions, I still live in Odaiba. I got a nice apartment there. I'm currently living alone -- enjoying bachelorhood, I guess you could say. Life's a little rough..."  
  
It was hours until they caught up with each other's lives. They had just sat and talked and droned on, but it was very strange. It wasn't the happy reunion any of them wanted or expected. The air was thick with tension, and the laughs and chuckles were often forced in a vain attempt to lighten the mood, but everything tried was unsuccessful. When the topic came to how Sora and Oroka met, it became very still and quiet.  
  
"I completely understand if you don't want to talk about it," Taichi said, sipping his fourth cup of coffee. "I was just curious is all. But if's fine it--"  
  
"No, it's okay, I'll tell you," Sora said uncomfortably. "It all started a few years back..."  
  
"I met Sora right after she graduated from college," Oroka said.  
  
"Oh, really? RIGHT after?" Taichi asked, trying to remain calm without exploding. 'Under a year from when we broke up then? I thought her life was too busy for a boyfriend. When it wasn't, couldn't she have come back to me? This Oroka is so unbelievably dull...' It was true, he was more plain and boring than his eye color. He had a boring job, a boring life, a boring everything...except he had Sora, who was so special to Tai that she could replace all those boring things easily and make his uninteresting life the opposite. "Right after we graduated from college?"  
  
"No, a little before," Sora said, not able to look at him.  
  
"That's terrific," he said falsely. "How was your first date?"  
  
It didn't take a genius to realize Sora couldn't go on anymore. Her husband answered. "I asked her if she'd like to watch a tennis invitation with me at a resort my parents own. And I bought her flowers."  
  
'Asshole!' was Tai's instant reaction.  
  
"My favorite kinds, too. Also my mother's favorite--" she said quietly.  
  
"Calla lillies," Tai said quickly.  
  
Time froze for a mere split-second.  
  
Oroka coughed. "I got her red and pink tulips... She said those were her favorites. We had tons of them at our wedding. That's what she held in her bouquet. There's actually a vase of them on the dining table."  
  
Taichi couldn't believe his ears. He had known Sora practically all his life. Mrs. Takenouchi had been like a second mother. He KNEW that it was calla lillies they both loved. He even knew the story behind it. That was the first bouquet of flowers Sora's dad had given her mom and also the last. She always kept them all over the house, and it always made Sora and Mrs. Takenouchi smile just walking into a room with them. "Really," he said, trying to catch Sora's eye.  
  
Her eyes met his for a short second, and she looked away. She cleared her throat and tugged at her collar. "Um, excuse me. I need some fresh air to clear my head." She started to get up, but Taichi stopped her.  
  
"No, don't worry about it. I should probably head off. I just left Hikari and Takeru at my house without properly saying goodbye or anything. Anyway--" His eyes flashed towards Oroka. "I've already overstayed my welcome."  
  
"Taichi--" she protested. "Where are you going? What are you doing?"  
  
"Funny, I was asking myself the same things the whole entire time I was driving here," he replied. "I'm sorry. Oroka, it was great meeting you, Sora, nice seeing you after so long, little Taichi...nice meeting you too, buddy. Well, I should leave now. Thanks a lot for the coffee and everything, but I just can't do this anymore." He got up and walked out the door.  
  
Sora looked downcast, and Oroka draped his arm around her.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said. "I know you were planning on visiting him for so long, and I know for a fact that you didn't expect anything like this."  
  
She sighed miserably. "Of course I didn't expect this. Oh, this was absolutely horrible. I'm just going to pretend none of this happen--" Her eye caught something. Taichi's jacket. "Oh no, he forgot his jacket. I better run over and give it to him." She picked it up and walked off. She opened the door, when a few things slipped out of the pocket.  
  
An envelope addressed to her, a single, pure white calla lily with a tinge of yellow, a royal blue, velvet box...  
  
Taichi let out a deep breath. "I can't believe this. She's married to that boring idiot? Oroka...stupid. Makeinu, loser, hell yes. Ugh, I can't believe she would marry that guy. They had a son..." He shoved his hands in his pockets, and only then did he realize the absence of a few things... Mainly, the coat everything had been in...  
  
Sora pulled the crisp sheet out paper out of the envelope. It was dated with the day's date.  
  
*Dear Sora,  
  
*It's been so long since I've talked to you and heard your lovely voice, seen your beautiful face. But I can still hear, see, remember you clearly in my mind. For those ten years we've been apart, I've been thinking of you. I've been thinking of you all the time, actually. Every minute, every hour, I just can't get you out of my mind, no matter how hard I try. Every day, every night, I wish you were back in my life. Can we give it just one more chance this time? Looking back on it now, where we went wrong, I can't figure out. I don't remember what I ever did wrong? Wish I could turn back the time, and make you mine. Is it too late for us to try a second time? Can I make it up to you somehow? (P.S. I snuck some lyrics in there)  
  
* For those ten years, my life has been a living hell. I just don't see things the same, I can't get out of the rain. It's clouding my mind. Ask Hikari, ask Takeru (that's right, was scrawled in Kari's handwriting). I've become a total slob with no life, who just mopes around all day, wishing I could be back with you. It took me forever to finally gather up the courage to tell you all this. I still love you with all my heart. Every thought I think, every emotion I feel, everything I do is because of you. I'll give it all up to you, just tell me what I should do. I want you back in my life. You can help me become a better person again. Without you, I'm just nothing. We should be together. I need you, Sora. I don't know how you feel about me, but I just want you to know, whether you love me or not, I'll always love you, and I'll never be able to stop thinking about you.  
  
*Love always,  
Taichi *  
  
She drew in her breath. 'He still loves me?' she thought. After all this time? "Oh my god, I have to catch up with him!" She dashed out the door and down the hallway. "Taichi!" she yelled, as he was reaching the elevators. "Come back!"  
  
He stopped in his tracks. "A man's heart can only be broken so many times in such a short amount of time. Just let me go home, Sora. I want to pretend none of this ever happened. I want to go home and live like a lazy, good-for-nothing slob -- the person I became after you left me. I just want things to go back to normal, because even with how bad that was, it was a hell of a lot better not knowing where the hell you were, who you were with, or who you loved -- than knowing that you lived so close, with a husband, a son, and that I mean nothing to you anymore." He leaned against the railing of the balcony and hung his head.  
  
Sora stood next to him and put her hand under his chin. She lifted his face up and looked into his deep chocolate brown eyes. "Tai, you mean A LOT to me," she told him. "Don't ever think otherwise."  
  
For a moment, he was in heaven, but then his misery that had added up to so much after the years caught back up with him. "Why shouldn't I? At one of the hardest points of your life, you shut me out of it completely. I could have helped you get through it, but I suppose you preferred Oroka to do it. Then, for ten whole years, you never spoke to me once. You didn't invite me to the wedding, tell me about Taichi, anything! You sound like you care a lot about me," he said sarcastically.  
  
She looked crestfallen. "Tai -- I never talked to you after that because I hurt you too much and I knew it. I was too much of a wimp to apologize, and I figured you'd hate me too much to accept that apology anyway. I never thought you'd still love me. But even if you didn't, it would still be too hard. Because I don't love Oroka... Well, I do, but it's not very strong. I've been making myself believe that I did to help myself get over you. 'Cause Tai...I never forgave myself for what I did. And I felt so horrible -- especially since I never really got over you either."  
  
"You -- you--?" he stammered. "You still love me too?"  
  
"Sort of, yes," she said shyly. "But that's absolutely horrible."  
  
"Why? You think you shouldn't love me?"  
  
"I really shouldn't. I have a husband, Tai." She held up her left hand and showed the gold bands on her ring finger. "And I have a son. That's the real reason I can't divorce Oroka. I want the best for my child. And Taichi would have a lot of problems in his life if Oroka and I started fighting and divorced, and then I remarried and all."  
  
"This Taichi would have problems too," he said glumly. "I already have lots of them. Ones that I can't fix without you."  
  
"That's one thing... We love each other TOO much. We're miserable without each other and we can hardly survive. I've been going crazy. I never thought I'd be able to tell you I still loved you."  
  
"Why did you have to go and have that kid? I mean, I love kids, I always wanted to be a dad, but... Taichi is really in the way of us."  
  
Sora slightly nodded. "I love Taichi a lot, and you know I want whatever's the best for him. That's why it's a real pity you couldn't be his father. Oroka is a really horrible one. And he's just too dull..."  
  
"So why did you marry him?" he asked, somewhat angrily.  
  
"I was vulnerable, I was confused, I was...I was stupid, Tai! It was very stupid of me, and not a single day goes by when I don't regret falling into his trap, believing every promise he told me, agreeing to go out with him, to marry him... I wish I could just go back those years, unsay what I said to you. We could have still been together. Oh, I was such an idiot!" She began to cry. "I'm so sorry, Tai. I wish I had never left you. What was I thinking? That one mistake has haunted me for ten years...I suppose it will for the rest of my life."  
  
"I'd tell you not to cry, I'd hold you close and say it'll all be okay, but... I feel like crying too. And it won't be okay." He bit his lip, trying to keep the tears from coming.  
  
"For a second... Could we for one second pretend none of this had happened?" Sora whispered desperately. "If I hadn't married, if I stayed single this whole time... And we got back together after ten years, what would that be like?"  
  
Taichi leaned closer to her. She felt herself being drawn closer also. They closed their eyes, and their faces were close...  
  
Taichi sniffled and gulped. "But none of it's like that," he whispered, their faces still merely inchese away. "We can't pretend none of this has happened, because the truth is, it has. And the truth is stronger than any fiction -- no matter how true we want it to be."  
  
She opened her eyes again, the tears falling even more freely now. "I suppose it was stupid of me to think we could just act like our lives were just all playtime. That we could pretend nothing was the way it was. I was stupid, and I still am. Why do you love me?"  
  
"You're not stupid," he told her. "Making mistakes isn't stupid. It happens to everyone, it's normal. And if you learn from your mistakes, it really wasn't actually that stupid, but better off."  
  
"How can you make this huge negative into a positive right now?" she asked. "No matter all the bad things that's happened, you can always make it seem less terrible than it really is."  
  
"Lately, my life has been too miserable for me to even describe. A million bad things have happened. Bad things are always going to happen. And we can't deny that. So instead of moping around about it, the motto for this is,   
'it could be worse.' I don't quite see how, but..." He paused, sorting his thoughts through his mind. He had so much he wanted to say, to express.  
  
Instead, he tried again. "For ten years, that's all I've been doing. Moping around and crying that you weren't with me. Look where that got me. Nowhere. Kari told me how useless it was. I finally understood. That doesn't mean I still don't hate what happened to us, but I know there's nothing I can do about it anymore. It's the past, it's done, it's over. And...it's just one of those things you can't fix anymore. Just being here with you for the short while we've had, even if it wasn't the reunion we had wished for, gave me the strength to understand all that. You... When I'm with you, I realize I'm a better person. But now that I've already learned that lesson, I suppose I can always apply it to my life, along with everything else you've taught me, because I'll never forget it. I'll never forget you."  
  
There was nothing more she could say, and she was too speechless to even attempt it anyway. "I wish it didn't have to be this way."  
  
"I've learned that wishing is useless. Wishing gets you nowhere. It brings out a hope in you, expectations, and it only hurts you worse when that wish doesn't come true. I learned the hard way."  
  
She sighed. "Still, I wish your life didn't have to be so horrible. I'd love to marry you, live with you, have children, live the rest of our lives together, but I know that can't happen. I do understand it now, but why couldn't life be far less complicated? It's all my fault."  
  
"Stop thinking that," he told her firmly. "Self pity gets nowhere either. And it isn't your fault. Do you believe in fate and destiny, Sora?"  
  
"Yes, I suppose so. It's nice to think that everything happens for a reason."  
  
"Then what you did ten years ago was fated. It was supposed to happen. And we can only hope -- no, just wait and find out what will become us...to see if we were truly meant to be. A wise person once said 'What will come will come, and we'll just have to meet it when it does.'" (Or something like that, Hagrid said it in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which belongs to J.K. Rowling. Not me, of course!)  
  
She nodded. "You're right, as always. You're a great person, Tai, you're a strong person. So if we can't be together, I don't want you to not live any day of your life to the best it could be, just because of me. We've taught each other a lot right now. All we have to do is use that knowledge to our advantage, and a crummy situation will seem more bearable."  
  
"Well then, everything seems wrapped up," Taichi said, putting his hands in his pocket.  
  
"Not quite," she replied, holding up his coat. "I read the letter inside already, but there are some things I'd like you to explain for me." She pulled out the flower and the ring box. "The ring... Were you going to propose to me?"  
  
"Of course not!" he said. "We've been away from each other for ten years, the first words out of my mouth would not be, 'will you marry me?'. And what makes you so positive it's a ring?"  
  
"Well, what else would it--?"  
  
"Open it," he interrupted.  
  
She obeyed. And sure enough, it wasn't a ring, but a necklace. A locket to be precise. To be more specific, Sora's locket, from years ago. The one she had given Tai a short while after they had started dating. "Oh my god...you still have this?"  
  
"I promised I would keep it. Forever. I could never lose it anyway, it means to much to me. I've kept that locket with me everywhere I went," he said. "But I want you to have it back. It really is yours."  
  
She gingerly opened it, and a picture of her was in it, opposite a picture of him. She stared at it for a few moments and then made up her mind. "No." She closed the locket, shut the box, and held it out to him.  
  
"No?" he asked, a little hurt, but mostly confused.  
  
"No," she repeated. "I want you to keep this. I said it would be forever, right? And I still love you, you still love me, we still love each other. Keep it."  
  
"All right. I'll keep it forever then," he said, placing the small box into his pocket.  
  
"Now the flower then," Sora said softly, holding it in her hands and marveling at its beauty.  
  
"Oh, simple. Before I knew about -- about everything in your life, I got these things ready. I had a whole speech ready. But that got very messed up. Anyway, the calla lily is because I know it's your favorite -- your REAL favorite. I've known you too long for you to trick me into believing your mother loved tulips, even if you do love tulips more now."  
  
Her expression showed he was right another time. "I don't love tulips. I told you I was forcing myself to love Oroka. He was so sure that tulips were my favorite, and I didn't want to let him down. For some reason, I had wanted us together, just because I wanted someone to love so much. And I still loved you, but I had no guts to tell you that. But Oroka could never replace you, ever."  
  
"I think this flower can work out either way for us," he said. "Because this could symbolized that after so long, we're getting back together and it started a new beginning. Since that isn't true, it could be because a calla lily was the last thing your father ever left your mother. And that flower meant the end."  
  
"It's neither. Because we're not quite together yet and it's definitely not over between us," she said. "But I'll keep the lily. It can have lots of meanings, and it's been a while since I've gotten one of these, my true favorites. Plus, anything from you is something I want to keep and cherish for as long as it lasts."  
  
"So everything is tied up then? For now, anyway?" Taichi asked.  
  
"No."  
  
"No?"  
  
"No," she repeated. "There's one more thing."  
  
He was a little puzzled. "We've tied up all the loose ends. What else could there possibly--?"  
  
She caught him completely off guard. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. Tai was surprised, but it was something he wanted. Something he needed, something he had wish--no, waited for for ten years. The kiss was long, deep, perfect, and neither of them wanted it to end. For that one moment, it seemed that the present time didn't exist. They were back in the past, without even having to pretend. And it was precisely what they had needed to fully get closure -- for the time being.  
  
"I've wished for that to happen for ten years," Sora replied breathlessly. "I decided I should do something about it."  
  
"Or that was just the way fate intended it to be," Taichi said. "And speaking of fate and destiny and all, I think I should really go right now. If I don't leave soon, I'll never be able to leave you."  
  
"But I suppose that really doesn't matter anyway. To think we're not acting upon our own actions is slightly unnerving. And to think that if you and I really aren't meant to be is--"  
  
"Well, maybe fate can be changed," he replied, looking for the bright side again. "Maybe we're supposed to be together, and if we're not, maybe there IS something we can do. Maybe so, maybe not. We can't live life on maybes either. There is an answer to everything, and eventually, we'll find out. If we just continue living life, after some time, we'll know how things should be. There's no maybe to that."  
  
"What will come will come," she remembered. "Okay then. Goodbye, Taichi. For now only. Because I know that we'll find some way to be together again, whether fate wills it or not. We'll find out."  
  
"Yes," he said softly. "Bye, Sora. I love you."  
  
"I love you too, Tai," she said tearfully.  
  
"I better go right now," he said. "Each second, it's getting harder and harder to go." So then he left.  
  
Neither of them were sure if they'd ever see each other again or somehow get back together. But they rememeber to keep their promises not to get their hopes up and wish for something that they couldn't control. They went back to living their lives as promised, except better than it had been before, especially in Tai's case. And so they waited, wondering if things between them could end happily....and they're still waiting to this day.  
  
*Another day has gone by  
Still have your picture by my side  
I can't forget what you said  
When we said goodbye  
I know it's hard to carry on  
Can I survive?  
  
Every minute, every hour  
I just can't get you out of my mind  
No matter how hard I try  
Every day, every night  
I wish you were back in my life  
Can we give it just one more chance this time?  
  
Looking back on it now  
Where we went wrong, I can't figure out  
Wish I could turn back the time  
And make you mine  
Is it too late for us to try a second time?  
  
Every minute, every hour  
I just can't get you out of my mind  
No matter how hard I try  
Every day, every night  
I wish you were back in my life  
Can we give it just one more chance this time?  
  
I just don't see things the same  
I can't get out of the rain  
It's clouding my mind  
I'll give it all up to you  
Just tell me what I should do  
I want you back in my life  
  
Every minute, every hour  
I just can't get you out of my mind  
No matter how hard I try  
Every day, every night  
I wish you were back in my life  
Can we give it just one more chance this time?*  
  
***  
  
A/N: Hmmm...this was supposed to be sad, wasn't it? I didn't mean to put more sap on there! You know I didn't! Read the first author's note and you'll see! But being nearly out of school (this quarter, at least) and parent-free, my spirits are kind of up. It's too hard to make this sad, but I bet most of you wanted it to be Taiora anyway. Well, this way, there really WAS no end. And don't ask for a sequel, because I'm not going to do it. I still have that sad ending to do too, though no one really cares anyway.  
  
I meant for this to be a songfic, but I was in no mood to split the song apart (I had all those lyrics in my head, by the way, so if anyone notices any that are wrong [if anyone's even heard the song], I was in a rush, all right?) and change the story to match the lyrics. The whole two part thing pretty much does match the lyrics...and the scary thing is, I hadn't intended it to! I had this whole idea, and then while thinking of a title, it finally struck me how perfect it was! (I always wanted to make a songfic with this anyway) And this is one long ass 2nd author's note, so I'll shut up now. Just as long as you do your part and review! I've got plenty of time on my hands, and I'll have a lot more in December to write fics, but I need your comments, your thoughts, encouragements, if you will... Please? 


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